An ILS International Launch Services Atlas 2A booster lofted the Lockheed Martin Astro Space/Matra Marconi Space-built Inmarsat 3F3 mobile communications satellite into geostationary-transfer orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 17 December. The new satellite will serve the Pacific Ocean region, complementing the first two satellites over the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, launched in 1996. The Inmarsat 3s have enabled the introduction of satellite telephones smaller than an A4-size lap-top computer.
Source: Flight International
